CASLI Language Comprehension & Production 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following is an example of a 'lexical borrowing' process in ASL?
- Creating a new classifier predicate for a novel concept
- Incorporating a fingerspelled English word that becomes phonologically adapted into an ASL sign (loan sign) (Correct answer)
- Using a mime gesture to represent a physical action
- Establishing a new referential locus for a previously mentioned concept
Correct answer: Incorporating a fingerspelled English word that becomes phonologically adapted into an ASL sign (loan sign)
Loan signs are words originally fingerspelled in English that have been phonologically modified and grammatically integrated into ASL, such as 'WHAT' derived from the fingerspelled #WHAT.
Question 2: An interpreter renders an ASL source message with accurate vocabulary but loses the signer's use of constructed action, resulting in a flat, third-person English retelling. The primary deficit is in:
- Source language vocabulary comprehension
- Preserving discourse-level features such as perspective and engagement (Correct answer)
- Target language grammar
- Managing interpreter lag
Correct answer: Preserving discourse-level features such as perspective and engagement
Constructed action (enactment of a character's physical actions) conveys perspective, vividness, and engagement; flattening it to third-person narration loses these discourse-level elements.
Question 3: In a CASLI evaluation context, 'source comprehension errors' that go unrepaired are most problematic because they:
- Make the interpretation less fluent
- Cascade into inaccurate target language output, misleading the consumer (Correct answer)
- Violate professional codes of ethics directly
- Indicate the interpreter is not certified
Correct answer: Cascade into inaccurate target language output, misleading the consumer
An unrepaired comprehension error propagates into the interpreted output, meaning the consumer receives inaccurate information about the source message.
Question 4: Which concept describes the interpreter's ability to hold source language input in working memory while simultaneously producing the target language output?
- Prospective memory
- Dual-task processing or divided attention (Correct answer)
- Procedural memory consolidation
- Semantic priming
Correct answer: Dual-task processing or divided attention
Simultaneous interpreting requires divided attention and dual-task processing, as the interpreter must comprehend incoming source input and produce target output at the same time.
Question 5: When evaluating ASL production quality, which feature signals that the interpreter's output is 'native-like' or highly proficient?
- Heavy reliance on fingerspelling for all nouns
- Smooth prosody, grammatical use of space, and native non-manual markers (Correct answer)
- Consistent use of English word order in ASL production
- Frequent pauses to self-correct and repair
Correct answer: Smooth prosody, grammatical use of space, and native non-manual markers
Native-like ASL production is characterized by smooth prosody, accurate spatial grammar, and natural non-manual signals that align with grammatical and pragmatic functions.
Question 6: In the CASLI framework, 'dynamic equivalence' in interpretation means:
- The target text uses the same signs as the source text wherever possible
- The target text produces the same effect on its audience as the source text does on its audience (Correct answer)
- The interpreter dynamically adjusts speed to match the source rate
- The interpreter produces a word-for-word correspondence between source and target
Correct answer: The target text produces the same effect on its audience as the source text does on its audience
Dynamic equivalence, a concept from translation theory, holds that the goal is not structural similarity but achieving the same communicative impact or response in the target audience as the source had.
Question 7: A candidate interpreting a medical consultation uses the ASL sign MEDICINE interchangeably for both 'medication' and 'medical field.' This is an example of:
- Appropriate use of a polysemous sign
- Lexical ambiguity error reducing target message precision (Correct answer)
- Effective use of contextual expansion
- Normal variation found in all native ASL discourse
Correct answer: Lexical ambiguity error reducing target message precision
Using the same sign for two distinct concepts without disambiguation creates lexical ambiguity, reducing the accuracy and clarity of the interpreted message for the consumer.
CASLI Language Comprehension & Production 5
Which of the following is an example of a 'lexical borrowing' process in ASL?